Shell: Gannet Alpha Pipe Leaked in Two Places, From Same Source

- Shell: Gannet Alpha Pipe Leaked in Two Places, From Same Source

Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
LONDON
by Alexis Flynn

Two leaks have occurred on an undersea pipeline at Shell's Gannet Alpha platform in recent days, the Anglo-Dutch major confirmed Tuesday, but said it believed both come from the same initial source.

"The leak source remains the same. The initial release path was stopped on Thursday, however the oil found a second pathway to the sea," Shell said in a statement.

"We believe now that the flow is coming from a relief valve adjacent to the original leak and from the same source," said Shell. "Once we've confirmed this we will then develop a series of mitigation options to stop this leak. There is no new leak."

Shell said Monday it estimates 216 metric tons, or 1,300 barrels, of oil has already spilled into the sea. This would make the spill the U.K.'s largest since 2000.

Earlier Tuesday, a senior Shell executive was cited by local media as saying a second leak is continuing to spill crude into the North Sea after the main leak discovered last Wednesday was effectively stemmed.

Shell said the second leak took longer to find because of its awkward position "amid complex subsea infrastructure."

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Shell: Gannet Oil Leak Under Control

- Shell: Gannet Oil Leak Under Control

Monday, August 15, 2011
Rigzone Staff
by Karen Boman

The oil leak on a flowline system that serves the Shell-operated Gannet Alpha platform in the North Sea has spilled an estimated 1,300 barrels, or 216 tonnes, a Shell spokesperson said. The spill remains under control, with the well shut in on Wednesday, Aug. 10 and work underway to completely halt any further oil leakage.

"This is a significant spill in the context of annual amounts of oil spilled in the North Sea. We care about the environment and we regret that the spill happened. We have taken it very seriously and responded promptly to it," said Glen Cayley, technical director of Shell's exploration and production activities in Europe, in a statement today.

Cayley estimates that the current rate of leaking is less than five b/d. The sheen, which also changes from day to day, is 0.5 square kilometres in size. The spill is a light crude oil with a low wax content (API-36). There is also some hydraulic fluid in present.

Cayley added, "The high winds and waves over the weekend have led to a substantial reduction in the size of the oil sheen as can be seen from the current levels on the water. We continue to expect that the oil sheen will disperse naturally due to wave action and that it will not reach the shore."

Personnel on the platform are safe and the platform continues to operate. A standby vessel, Grampian Prince, remains on station monitoring the area, with oil spill response equipment and dispersant available if required. Shell's emergency response team remains in place and is working with the relevant authorities (DECC, MCA, Marine Scotland, Scottish Government) to manage the incident and minimize its environmental impact.

"We are also in contact with RSPB and other environmental agencies. We will be sharing our latest estimates with them as well as what we know about the nature of the oil, and the monitoring of wildlife," said Cayley.

The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said its environmental inspectors will continue to monitor the situation and have been working closely with the company and counterparts from the Health and Safety Executive, Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Marine Scotland since the spill was reported last week.

"Although small in comparison to the Macondo, Gulf of Mexico, incident, in the context of the UK Continental Shelf the spill is substantial – but it is not anticipated that oil will reach the shore and indeed it is expected that it will be dispersed naturally.

"The UK Continental Shelf oil spill record is strong which is why it is disappointing that this spill has happened. We take any spill very seriously and we will be investigating the causes of the spill and learning any lessons from the response to it."

The Gannet field is in the Central North Sea around 112 miles (180 km) east of Aberdeen. It is operated by Shell U.K. Limited on behalf of itself and Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited.

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Shell Managing N. Sea Gannet Spill

- Shell Managing N. Sea Gannet Spill

Friday, August 12, 2011
Rigzone Staff
by Saaniya Bangee

Shell confirmed Friday afternoon that an oil leak had occurred in a flowline serving the Gannet Alpha platform in the U.K. North Sea.

Shell spokesman Kim Blomley said, "We have stemmed the leak significantly and we are taking further measures to isolate it," he said. "The subsea well has been shut in, and the flow line is being depressurized. We continue to monitor the situation on the surface and subsea."

Shell has informed the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) and the Health & Safety Executive.

Spokesmen for the DECC and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency have responded to the incident and are investigating the situation.

The Gannet Alpha platform is located 180 kilometers east of Aberdeen in central North Sea. Shell operates the platform along with ExxonMobil's U.K. unit Esso.

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